NESTOR R. GARCIA serves as one of nine members on the Honolulu City Council. He was sworn into office on January 2, 2003 and re-elected in 2004. Garcia currently chairs the Parks Committee. Before that, Garcia served four terms in the State House of Representatives and was a co-Whip on the Democratic majority caucus. He chaired the House Public Safety & Military Affairs Committee, and was vice chair of the Labor Committee, and a member of the House committees on Education, Higher Education, and Transportation. Prior to politics, Garcia was a respected journalist, going from newsroom assistant to investigative reporter to Press Secretary for U.S. Senator Dan Inouye. He also worked as a public relations consultant and spent 10 years as a corporate communications executive at the former City Bank before opening his own consulting firm. Garcia also is a certified substitute teacher with the State Department of Education. His volunteer work includes the Leeward YMCA, The Children?s Justice Center Foundation, the National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii, Hina Mauka, and Independent Living Waipahu, Inc. Garcia grew up in a single-parent household that received government assistance. From that experience, he has made it a lifelong pursuit to help those less fortunate. He is inspired by Senator Robert Kennedy?s passion for helping the disadvantaged, the poor, and children, and Thomas Jefferson?s intellect and passion to defend the rights of the individual, even in the face majority opposition. Garcia is married to the former Karen Mun. They have two daughters, Lyndsey and Cara.